Home Wong Nga and Black Cty: April 2010

Friday, April 30, 2010

What Has Made You Happy Lately?

I guess I am a pretty easy person to please. I can see something good in pretty much all situations. Also, the simplest things (for example, the cake I baked turned out well or I grabbed the last box of cookies at the store... things like that) make me smile.

Last week the package my sister sent arrived. It had some Japanese sewing books I wanted... That made me super happy!!

I have been really busy lately, so I haven't had a chance to sit down to truly enjoy them. Although even just skimming through them, I found so many pretty clothes I want to make.

Look how cute this is!

or this:

When I used to live in Japan, one of my favorite places to go was the book store. Can you guess which section I spent most of my time in? Yes, the sewing and craft sections. There are soo many nice sewing related books in Japan, I miss going to the book stores over there.

One time, I tried to order two books off of Amazon Japan, they were about $10 each(I wanted to order 2 books), with shipping, the cost came to over $60! That is insane!

Now you know why these books made me so happy.
Is there anything that has made you happy lately?

With Mother's Day just around the corner (Oh, my goodness! Is it really next week!?), I thought I would give everyone my top three picks from the store that I would love to give or receive for Mother's Day this year. Remember, we ship if you see something your mom has just got to have! (And our online shopping site is just up and running... more on that to come!) And if you see that little something you just can't live without, feel free to leave this page open on your computer with a little sticky note for your husband... I'm just sayin'...

1. The Pot-of-Gold, Lottery Winner gift...

New Bedding Top to Bottom - linen sheets, duvet, satin pillow cases, euros and bed skirt.

How many of us are sleeping on the same bedding we got for our wedding 10, 20, maybe even 30 years ago? After long days with the kids, grandkids, at home or at work, we all deserve to be pampered when we crawl into bed at the end of the day, right? I am a firm believer that when it comes to your bed, you need to treat yourself to the best. So, for any husbands out there who really want to show their wives how much they love and appreciate them, this is the gift for you. Trust me, she will love it.

2. The always reliable, always a hit, sure to be her new favorite gift...

Jewelry - specifically something from one of our fantastic local jewelry designers, Jewel-ya or Sugar bean. Who doesn't love a gorgeous new necklace, bracelet or pair of earrings? Something new and exciting to make that same old black dress take on a whole new look. And you can help support our amazing local artists at the same time! Husbands, this one is sure to delight your lovely wife...

3. The often overlooked, but quite possibly one of the best gifts (ever)...

A new white tee. Seems so simple, but what mom (especially with little ones) wouldn't love a brand new white tee, especially from the always perfect Michael Stars collection. Pair it with some of our certified organic Milk line, such as the milk lotion (can I just say it is amazing!) or milk candle, and you have the makings of a fabulous gift. Come in and pick it out and we will make up a beautiful Mother's Day basket for you... (and don't forget, we ship!)

And while we are at it, here are our top Teacher's Gift picks, as well. We definitely need to celebrate our children's teachers and let them know how much we appreciate all they do for our kids. And as much as I am sure my child's teacher loves every single student, I don't really think she wants a coffee mug with my child's picture on it... Am I right teachers? So, let's get them something you would buy (and love) for yourself...

1. Cote Bastide Sea Salts.

Cote Bastide is an amazing line all the way from France and we have an exclusive on these to-die-for sea salts. What teacher doesn't deserve to relax in the bath after a long school year?

2. Patriotic Flag bunting.

This adorable and festive bunting could hang in any room of your house, would be fantastic to bring out for the 4th of July and, I am sure, would liven up any classroom. And just look at the cute packaging it comes in... "On a happy day."

3. Fleur De Lis (insulated) Tote.

How stylish and functional is this tote? Gorgeous black and white with a fleur de lis and fully insulated? What's that? An insanely reasonable price, too? Need we say more?

4. A linen dish towel with a bottle of lemonade.

These linen dish towels are one of our very favorite items in the store. And who doesn't feel special when treated to something linen? Pair it with a bottle of lemonade or any other kitchen treat and it would make a great teacher's gift.

5. Garden in a bag.

These lovely little herbs come in the cutest packaging and there is no pot needed. Just have your child make a handmade little gift tag to tie to the top and you couldn't beat the adorable presentation of this gift.

So, there you have it. Hope some of our ideas help and hope to see some of you (or better, some of your husbands with their Mother's Day list in hand) in the store soon!

Does anybody have any fabulous Mother's Day plans? What was your best Mother's Day ever, in terms of a great gift (given or received) or a wonderful surprise? I just love to hear other people's stories. They spark such great new inspiration! So, please do share!

Have a great weekend! See you Monday!

French Impressionist Landscape

When we travel, we are always on the look out for a piece of local art we can bring back home. It could be pottery, a hand carved wood bowl or a painting.

When we were in France we spent some time in Art Galleries and looking at street artists in all of the cities we visited. From Paris to Avignon, we were looking for that certain oil painting that captured the feel of French Country.

We found a charming art gallery on a side street in Avignon that dealt in local artists. We purchased this beautiful painting called Chemin de Provence, which when loosely translated means "way of Provence".

The painting is by artist, Jean Lescure. I love the way it looks in our bedroom.

I love impressionism....what type of art do you like?

Welcome Home,

Penny

Last fall I planted our first tulip bulbs in the yard. The variety is called 'Triumph' and came from Van Bloem Gardens.

It was pure joy to watch her rise up from the spring ground and say hello. I think even dear Hubby said hello back.

This fall, I'm going to make a point of getting many more bulbs to plant around the yard because there's nothing quite sweeter than to see that little sleeping bulb come up in the spring and blossom into a beautiful flower.

Happy weekend dear friends. xo

In the shadows before nightfall, the amethyst orbs of Star of Persia twinkle like planets against the purple foliage sky of loropetalum and the constellation of blue scabiosa stars.

Everything looks different in the sunshine as Star of Persia (allium christophii) and the companions revert to their daytime colors. Not a focal point, but an accent—the softball-sized flowers add a hint of sparkle to the garden.

These are first year bulbs, planted in the autumn of 2009. Tucked in tightly among the foliage of daylilies, scabiosa 'Butterfly Blue', a burgundy loropetalum and perennial creeping heliotrope—the alliums were easy to squeeze into my existing gardens. The short stature makes it easy to obscure the stems and foliage of the alliums.

Star of Persia is suitable for zones 4a-8b in full sun, well-drained locations. This allium is deer and rabbit resistant.

For over a week now, I've been watching the allium blooms start out compact and slowly expand to the full size orbs. The color is difficult to describe and even more difficult to photograph as the light changes the bloom to cool amethyst, silver, lavender or burgundy.

I'm not even sure if I like my companion color choices with the shades of blue and lavender. I planted the alliums with the scabiosa and heliotrope for a similar bloom time and was going for a monochromatic color scheme.

In hindsight, I believe shades of pink blooms will be better color companions. A bit of tweaking to do for color when I move the bulbs this fall—but I do like the sparkling Star of Persia.

Words and photos by Freda Cameron, Defining Your Home, Garden and Travel. All company or product or patented names mentioned are registered trademarks/copyrights/patents owned by those respective companies or persons.

3D printing from SketchUp just got a little easier

i.materialise is a web-based 3D printing service provider. You give them a computer model and some money, and they send you a physical model in return. Pretty simple, really.

Except that 3D printing is usually anything but simple. Printing SketchUp models involves file conversion, scale conversion and quite a bit of checking for mysterious things like "watertightness". With demand for rapid prototyping on the rise, companies like Materialise (and a few others) are doing their best to make the SketchUp-to-object printing process easier than ever.

How it works

The new SketchUp plugin from i.materialise is essentially a wizard: After installing it, you open a model, launch the plugin and go through the steps. You scale your model to make it fit on the printing "plate", indicate areas of glazing (transparency), and even add ready-made elements (like trees) from a collection of "guaranteed-to-print" objects supplied by i.materialise. When you're ready, the plugin lets you one-click-upload your prepared model for printing.

A model printed from a SketchUp file using the i.materialise plugin

Here are some more facts:

The i.materialise SketchUp plugin is free to download and use
Printed models can be either monochrome or full-color; fixed prices start around €300/$350
Models can be as big as 150 mm by 230 mm by 140 mm high (about 6 x 9 x 5.5 inches high)
For now, the i.materialise SketchUp plugin is Windows-only
There’s a terrific PDF Manual that you can download -- it answered all my questions

Enter the Design Challenge

To kick things off, the folks at i.materialise have even sponsored a little competition. The World of Houses SketchUp Design Challenge invites anyone to submit a SketchUp model for consideration. A jury (of which I am a part) will pick their three favorite models; the winners will receive a printed model as a prize. Take a look at the challenge website for all the details, but do it soon -- the deadline for submissions is May 24, 2010.

Posted by Aidan Chopra, SketchUp Evangelist

Friday Madness!

In honor of all our fantastic blog readers, we are going to start a little something called "Friday Madness." Every Friday we will post a different promotion for the Willows for that day only... and we will only announce it on the blog. Thus, only our dedicated blog readers will have the inside tip. Just come into the store and mention the blog to get whatever discount we are offering that Friday. Sound good? Be sure to tell all your friends to follow the blog, as I am sure no one wants to miss this...

20% Off All Apparel - Today Only!

Even our brand new white AG cropped jeans that we just got in the store! 20% off!

(How cute are these for summer?)

And, of course, we also still have our classic boyfriend style AG jeans in long and cropped, as well as AG jean shorts!

All of our amazing Michael Stars basics... also 20% off!

Our amazing clothing line from Japan - that you won't find anywhere else - 20% off!

All our flip flops - Dinis, Jamie Kreitman and Michael Stars - yep, 20% off, too!

And have you seen our summer hats and apparel from a handmade clothing line based out of Jerome? Each piece is one of a kind and today only they are... you guessed it, 20% off!

We are even offering 50% off on select apparel!

Remember it is today only, so come on in and freshen up that summer wardrobe!

Just be sure to mention the blog!

quick question

have those of you that subscribe to house beautiful received the latest issue? i’m a little concerned. i was browsing the magazine aisle at the store yesterday and saw the latest issue of house beautiful. the problem is that i’m a subscriber and haven’t received mine for this month. i know elle decor had a mix up last month and quite a few of their subscribers didn’t receive their issues due to a shortage. i’m just wondering if the same thing happened this month with house beautiful. maybe mine just got lost in the mail or something. i really hope not because i don’t want to have to buy it at the store. i’ve sent a note to customer service so hopefully i’ll find out where mine is soon.

LiveJournal Tags: house beautiful,elle decor

loving…

1. nate berkus for hsn. this dhurrie rug in particular.

2. and this ikat journal set also by nate.

3. this beautiful quote that i saw earlier this week on pink wallpaper.

4. this super-cute height chart. i saw it on the real living blog.

5. this suzani apron. saw it on the green door and she found it at magpie lovely.

have a lovely spring weekend!

LiveJournal Tags: loving...,suzani,dhurrie rug,nate berkus collection,hsn,ikat,quote

Notice Something Different?

Here is a picture of my powder room, that I have shown you before.....

Here is a picture taken today. Do you notice anything different?

I found this wonderful porcelain night light in a black toile that almost disappears into the wallpaper!

Here it is with the light turned on....

When we had company over, I felt I needed to leave the light on while they were here. Now the night light is just the perfect amount of light, so my company can find the light switch when they walk into the powder room. It is the perfect ambiant light.

I found it on EBAY, simply type in the words toile night light when searching.

It is the little things that make a house a home...don't you think?

Welcome Home

Penny

SketchUp training for kitchen & bath designers

If you’re a kitchen & bath designer who’s interested in learning more about using SketchUp in your workflow, this one’s for you. Our SketchUp Authorized Training Center friends at School are planning a Designer Bootcamp for late May. You’ll learn how to use SketchUp Pro, LayOut and the 3D Warehouse to make your process easier, more efficient and more fun.

WHEN: May 26, 27 and 28 , 2010
WHERE: Orlando, Florida, USA
HOW MUCH: $699 for the 3-day event (18 hours of hands-on training)

For more information, check out School’s blog post about the event.

Posted by Shara Greenlee, SketchUp ATC Program Manager

Up close and personal

We’re happy to announce that Nashville, Indianapolis, Charlotte, and Dallas are the newest additions to the family of Google Earth cities with high-quality 3D imagery. Exploring some of America’s most well-known cities from the comfort of your own computer just got even easier, and it also got more fun!

Whether exploring Nashville’s music venues along 2nd and Broadway, Indy’s Monument Circle in the heart of downtown, Charlotte’s diverse and numerous museums, or Dallas’s architecturally rich historic districts, the updated high quality 3D imagery will make you feel like you’re really there.

Give it a go in Google Earth or watch the video below for an up close tour!

Posted by Catherine Moats, 3D Modeling Specialist

Last call to cast your vote!

April is coming to a close, and you can still add your vote (if you haven’t already done so) for the best town in the Google Model Your Town Competition. On May 1, 2010 at midnight PST the voting page will be closed. We'll announce the winner on May 14th. The winner will be one of the following five finalists:

Barranco (Lima, Peru)
Braunschweig (Niedersachsen, Germany)
Donostia - San Sebastián (Gipuzkoa, Spain)
Dursley (Gloucestershire, United Kingdom)
West Palm Beach (Florida, United States)

Voice your opinion. Vote now!

Posted by Allyson McDuffie, SketchUp Team

Meet Joan. I've known her since I was a little girl. This Italian bust of marble and alabaster used to sit on a table in my Grandmother's foyer in California. Before that, she came from my Great Great Grandmother's house in Chicago.

Growing up, I didn't know her as the tragic and heroic figure Joan of Arc. She was just the pretty lady that greeted us in my Grandmother's entry.

For now, she's on our bedroom dresser. Eventually, I would like to relocate her to the living room downstairs, but will need to find a table strong enough to support her.

Hubby wasn't all that crazy about Joan when she first came to live with us. She reminds him of his parochial school days.

But I think she's growing on him.

TRH Visiting a Friend...

I have been reading all the comments on my last post "What I have learned from my Mom". Your comments are all so personal and sweet! Thank you so much for participating and sharing such special stories about your mothers and what you have learned from them.

The giveaway will go until the 5th, so if you haven't entered don't forget to do so!

I am also celebrating Moms at Ruffles and Stuff today... I have been given the opportunity to be a guest blogger and to share my newest tutorial there. It could be a gift idea for your mom!

Please head over to see what I came up with, and give me some love notes!

Have a nice day everyone!

design to inspire...

Did you know that I love to design? It is almost a sickness. Whenever I am at one of my kids' houses I can't help but start rearranging furniture in my head or thinking what pieces may better suit the space or how to create a more beautiful flow through the room or... I could go on and on. It honestly brings me so much joy and fulfillment to assist in creating a beautiful space in someone's home. That was one of the main reasons I opened the Willows many years ago. I receive lovely and flattering comments from people all the time, but the other day I received a comment that left me feeling a little torn. A big designer was in the store and commented, "I just love getting ideas from your store!" Then she raved and raved about how great the store looked and left. She didn't buy anything, she has never brought customers to our store, and, as flattered as I was, I felt somewhat let down. Don't we all need to help support each other if we want the small, local businesses to stay?

Anyway, we just finished setting up the store for summer with our Sea Bags and sails and all things nautical and patriotic. We are so happy with how it all looks, we hope you will come in and have a peak in person, but in the meantime...

Sea bags, which are these amazing totes made from recycled sails, also make this fabulous wine bag which we are all loving at the store right now. You write the name of the friend you are giving it to and the date and then they pass it along and do the same. What a fun gift to have within a circle of good friends!

Tomorrow we are going to post our top picks for Mother's Day and teacher's gifts, so be sure to check those out. Or next time you are in the store, we will be more than happy to show you! And for those who are extra ahead of the game we already even have some great Father's Day ideas...

On a different note, my daughter-in-law, Emily (who loved all your comments on yesterdays post!) just asked me if I had any suggestions for something to hang above the toilet in her newly remodeled bathroom. I have decided to see if you all have any suggestions. Should she paint the white walls since there is so much white tile? Or does all that white keep it looking clean and fresh? Should she hang some sort of towel rack, but something light and airy? What about a really big picture of her kids? What do you think?

Finally, thank you so much to all our wonderful and loyal customers! And thank you to all our new friends we have found (and are continuing to find) through this blog! We love hearing your thoughts and ideas (keep the comments coming!) and are looking forward to everything else we have to share here. So, spread the love and become a follower, bookmark our blog, or email to a friend (or ten friends...). We have so many design tips, store promotions, craft ideas, new recipes, remodel updates, giveaways and so much more to share, so we hope you'll all stick around and continue to give us your lovely feedback. Can I express anymore how much I love reading every single comment? You ladies (and any fellas out there) are the very best.